Kodie Shane: Preparing for SXSW & another big year

Kodie Shane is just eighteen years-old — while she is seasoned enough to remember owning a Walkman and the self-titled Ashanti album on CD, she is still young enough for Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter IV to be the first album she paid for with her own money.

Nowadays, Shane pays for a lot with her own money.

“I’m about to go get me two iPhone Pluses ‘cause these too small,” she says, holding three recent models of the Apple smartphone, her eyes constantly switching from screen to screen, while sitting backstage at the Loving Touch in Ferndale, MI, where we had a chance to chat during the tail-end of the tour for her Zero Gravity EP.

Kodie Shane is tinier than you’d expect in person — small enough that "tiny" truly seems like a fitting word — but she has grand dreams and a roaring personality, a combination that she expects to grant her a long career in “modeling, movies, (and) clothes.” 2016 was a breakout year for the hip-hop diva, as her connection with Lil Yachty’s Sailing Team proved fruitful for both parties through the success of their collaborative song “Sad.” As Shane explains, 2017 is set to be even bigger.

Kodie Shane is wearing a blacked out sweatsuit while we chat, having come straight off her tour bus and hardly had time to orient herself to the night’s venue, but her sneakers say Saint Laurent — she still walks like a full-fledged pop princess.

Here are some excerpts from our conversation, which have been re-arranged for clarity:

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First and foremost, how’s the tour been?

Super lit actually. Way more lit than I thought, so, I’m excited.

How much longer are you going to be going around?

Detroit, Chicago, Oakland and LA, then we’re done. So, like a week.

What has been the most fun thing about going on tour so far?

I like seeing different people everywhere. I think it’s amazing how there are so many people in the world that look different.

Do you think that moving from Atlanta to Chicago (during your childhood) affected your sound at all? Obviously hip-hop has a locality element to it.

I never know what to say when people ask me if a certain state influenced my music. I don’t feel like Atlanta makes me make this type of music; I don’t feel like Chicago makes me makethis type. I’m just making music. I’m not really thinking about it any type of way — I’m just putting it out.

If I go record in New York, it will probably make me feel different when I’m recording. It will probably give me a different energy. But just because I’m from Chicago doesn’t mean I’m going to make Chicago music. You know what I’m saying?

Just ‘cause I move to Atlanta doesn’t mean I’m gonna start making different music. If I go to LA and record, it will probably give me a different energy than when I record in New York, but it doesn’t mean I’m about to go make an LA song.

Where I’m from has nothing to do with the music I’m making, but I definitely think if I go to different cities, I can get different vibes and stuff like that.

Is there a particular city right now that you’ve been having a lot of fun creating in?

I actually never even have time to record in different cities when I’m there, but I love LA.

What are your next plans as far as projects go?

I’m working on my album right now, so I don’t really want to say too much about that ‘cause I don’t want to give it away, but that’s pretty much it. It’s album time right now.

Mentally, has that been different at all than your previous work?

Album? Yeah. I kind of want to make, like, some bigger music I think. That’s the word I’ve been using, but every time I use that word nobody gets it. I just want to try to make some bigger songs.

I’m recording all the time. I’m actually having, like, withdrawals right now ‘cause I haven’t recorded since we’ve been on tour. Hopefully I can get some studio time in LA.

Do you have any ideas that you have always wished you could enact that — now the you’re being put in a position where anything is possible — you’re excited to finally carry out?

Nah, anything I wanted to do, I just did, so if I want to make a pop song, I just do it.

I want to do movies, or modeling. That’s something I always wanted to do. I’m not about to be doing just any movie (though). Like, it’s got to be afiremovie. I got to be like, ‘Damn, if I’m not in that movie, I still want to see it!’ You know what I’m saying?

I’m not doing a low budget movie. It’s got to hit all theaters at once.

A blockbuster?

A blockbuster! I need a blockbuster. I’m not going straight to Netflix. Even though that’s beasty, though. I’m just saying.

For real: Modeling; Movies; Clothes. The whole thing.

You design?

I mean, I will.

I read online that Coach K [who manages Gucci Mane and Young Thug] and you had a sort of musical relationship. Did he mentor you?

A lot of people inspire me, but I never really had a mentor. I just knew (Coach) when I was younger. He knew my producer — Matty P.

I definitely feel like people have helped me out — I’ll never take that away from anybody. I’ll always give the credit, like, (Lil) Yachty helped me, Coach helped me. Nobody ever, like, taught me how to do anything.

Yachty could be like: “I took her on tour! That’s my little sister.” But he could never be like: “I taught her what she knows.” You know what I’m saying? N*ggas ain’t teach me nothing.

What are your plans for the summer?

Turn up even more. South By Southwest, all of that.

You’ve been before?

South By? Yeah, but this year is about to be my turnt up year. Last year was a really good year for me. This year I’m turnt up. Wait until you see what stages I’m doing.

Hell yeah. I’m excited to see.

You gon’ be — N*ggas gon’ be like — DAAAANG she lit!

Nothing little this year. All big shit this year. Big shit this year. Big stuff this year. Big things this year. Big ‘tings this year. Nothing little. No little South By Southwest stages. No little money. No little nothing. I’m about to go get me two iPhone Pluses ‘cause these (smaller sized ones are) too small.

What are you gonna do after the tour, when you finally have some time to just kick it?

I’ll probably not be doing nothing for a week once we get off tour, then I’m going straight to, I don’t know — I got too much shit going on. I got so much going on, bruh!

I like Hulu.

What do you watch on Hulu?

"Clarence." I like cartoons. The colors keep me going.

Well, I guess you’ll just have to turn up extra hard on your birthday this year then.

I’ll be nineteen, I probably won’t do nothing this year. I’ll probably go to dinner this year. I’ll probably be able to pay for it now. My people. Dat way. The family way.